


A New Tradition

by T2Boy2



Series: Light And Love 2020 [2]
Category: Frozen (Disney Movies)
Genre: F/F, Light and Love 2020, Traditions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-15
Updated: 2020-12-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:00:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28095045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/T2Boy2/pseuds/T2Boy2
Summary: All goes so wrong...or does it?
Relationships: Elsa/Honeymaren (Disney)
Series: Light And Love 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2051502
Comments: 8
Kudos: 21





	A New Tradition

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Domika83](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Domika83/gifts).



> So, I had this originally planned but deiced to take the short one but ah what the heck! Right Santa ;-D?

Sleep did not come for the former queen of Arendelle. Elsa lay on her back in the room her sister always had prepared in case she visited from the enchanted forest, staring at the sealing, her heart heavy.

Maren hated her, Elsa was sure of it!

After this day what else could Maren do? It had been a total disaster and all Elsa had wanted to do was to share the traditions of her homeland when it came to celebrating Christmas with her newfound friends.  
The Nattura siblings and Maren in particular had become a great source of comfort and support.  
The young woman spend hours of her time to teach Elsa, made her feel welcome in the forest, doing all in her power to make the transition as pleasant for Elsa as possible.  
She was a really good friend.  
And Ryder was like her Northuldran version of Kristoff, sweet, kind, and occasionally hilarious.  
And now she had disappointed them both.

And to think all had started so well.  
Elsa had managed to get permission from Yelena that the Nattura siblings could come to Arendelle over the holidays.  
She should have known that something was up right there, Now that she thought about it, she was sure that Maren had looked slightly worried?  
Yet Elsa had thought that her friend was slightly nervous at leaving the forest for the first time in forever, after spending her whole life in isolation.

First time out of the castle Elsa had sung her heart out, build a freaking palace on the north mountain, creating life out of snow in the form of Olaf ...and also coursed her kingdom with an eternal winter by total accident but, oh well – details!  
But had Elsa misread the clear signs Maren had been giving her?  
No, she just had rushed ahead to prepare everything with her equally overexcited sister!

_'I am such an idiot!'_

Anna, Kristoff, Olaf and even Sven, who like Ryder in particular, had helped eagerly to decorate, the news of the foreign guest quickly spreading in the whole kingdom, and it appeared to Elsa that all of her former subjects put in the extra effort in decorating.  
Soon all of Arendelle looked like a winter wonderland.  
The signs of the multiple ways the Arendellians celebrated proudly on display and even though Elsa loved the enthusiasm of her former subjects, she wished they had restrained themselves a little bit.

Maren and Ryder had arrived as planned at the place, greeted by an excited crowd of staff members, all more than eager to finally meet two members of the mysterious Northuldra tribe.  
Maren certainly did not disappoint in this regard.  
Elsa found her a sight to behold, and by the admiring looks she earned from some of the staff, she was not the only one.  
But her back had bin a little too straight, her face proud, almost distant, so unlike the warm smile, Elsa was used from her.

After greeting Anna and Kristoff somewhat stiffly with a bow, that made queen and her consort throw each other a quizzically look, then the young woman did nor see, already turning to Elsa, her smile just as honest and sweet as it usually was, and Elsa felt the little lump of worry vanish as Maren hugged her, more closely then she had Anna, ore Kristoff, not letting go of Elsa's hands right away as they parted.  
„It is good to see you again.“ she said, and Elsa had felt light and happy like she always did when Maren was around.  
Ryder, on the other hand, as the more easygoing of the two, made quite the fuss as he threw himself of his reindeer, greeting Kristoff in a very painful looking hug, before giving his bone-crushing hello to Anna and then, after shoving his sister aside, Elsa.  
Elsa shared a look with Maren, before quickly looking away, both fighting down their laughter.  
Ryder was still busy greeting every maid, aid, guard and stable worker with a handshake, making them all laugh, securing his spot as a new favorite guest.  
Dinner had been a fun affair as well- good food and even better company and Elsa's heart had grown ten times that evening as she saw how greatly Anna and Kristoff seemed to like Maren. And Ryder of course.

The next day came.  
The traditional ringing of the yule bell went well, Ryder looked impressed and pleased by the size and grandeur of it all, almost bouncing where he stood, and Elsa heard a loud 'wow', as Kristoff brought the bell and it was lifted high up by many eager hands. But Maren though...Elsa did not like what she saw. Her friend looked tense, her slight smile not reaching her eyes, scanning her surroundings like a hawk, her shoulders tense.  
After the call of the bell rang through the air, Elsa wanted to ask Maren if everything was alright but before she could do anything about it, Ryder caught the attention of townspeople, announcing that they had a little surprise prepared.  
As it was tradition among the Northuldra and as good guests they had brought small tokens for the children - masterfully carved reindeer figure, a flute, or other little toys made out of of things the enchanted forest had an offer.

 _'_ _That certainly explained why Ryder had wanted to talk in private with Olaf as he visited the forest last month.'_ Elsa had thought, for the snowmen knew all children of the kingdom, and was really good at remembering their names and what they liked the most.

At first, the kids had been a bit shy, not wanting to approach the strangers, but Maren's smile was warm and kind, the tightness in her shoulders gone, and Ryder, well was just Ryder and soon the delighted laughs and excited yells of the kids filled the air.

And this could have been that – a nice little ceremony, then Elsa would have taken the Nattura's into the castle and shown Maren how to make an Olaf doll, maybe talking with her and see if she could help, drinking hot chocolate with Anna, while Ryder and Kristoff could have talked shop for ours about reindeer before they all would gather in the nearby woods the next day so Elsa could cast her ice-tree and the first kid that found Olaf, who would have hidden somewhere close by, would be allowed to put the star with the little Olaf doll on top, then a nice dinner provided by the castle staff and done! A wonderful evening, without complications and without disasters.  
But instead, Elsa got a day that made her almost kidnap Maren, bring her to the trolls, and beg grand pabbie to erase the woman's memory.

Elsa knew the people of Arendelle had meant well, all of them without a doubt but why had they exaggerate so much?  
And why had she never know her people had such crazy traditions to being with?? Granted she never had actually joined them in one of them but she had not expected this!

Encouraged on by the gifts Maren and Ryder had made, there all but dragged them off, eager to share their traditions with the high guests.

Rolling the Lefse with Mrs. Arson and her son was a quite harmless activity, but by the look on Maren's face, it was clear that she still felt uncomfortable in some way.  
If Elsa could have just know what was bothering her friend she was sure she could have helped.  
But then came the Gulbrandsen twins skipping towards Maren and Ryder, and from here on out it was clear why Maren felt uncomfortable. Before the snow queen could do anything they dragged the siblings off, one showing them how to make bordstabelbakkle while the other feed them so much of a whole tablet of the traditional sugar cookies, that Maren, who never was a fan of sweets to being with, turned a little green and Ryder, who was way too eager to comply, almost got a mad sugar rush.

So it was no wonder that at first Elsa had thought that Mr. And Mrs. Olsen appearing, saving the Nattura's out of the twin's clutches, was a good thing. Knitting socks for grandchildren surely a peaceful, and calming thing to do.  
Elsa had been never so wrong in her life.  
The normally sweet elderly couple, that was nothing but friendly to each other and other's the whole year round, turned into merciless professionals when it came to knitting socks for their many, many grandchildren!  
It was a ruthless business and as soon Maren or Ryder made the tiniest mistake, they got a stern talking to, so much that Anna and Elsa had to intervene, sending the siblings out of the house before things really got out of hand.  
It had taken Anna and Elsa just a moment longer to settle Mr. And Mrs.Olsen down again and to join the others outside again but these few minutes seemed to be enough to let total chaos come upon Arendelle!

Elsa, the filth spirit, and Anna, the queen of Arendelle stood in front of the tiny, inviting-looking house of the Olsens, their eyes wide as they wandered along the main street to the center where the statute of their parents stood.

It was like war! Evergreen was spread everywhere like the ripped out insides of a poor creature that tried to fight back against the holiday cheer of the Aredellian people, badly hidden gifts where everywhere, and closer to the statute of her parents were a bunch of people, among them Mr.Dahl, surrounded by his usual crow of friends, being very generous with his booze, like usual around this time of the year. It looked like Kristoff and Ryder had eagerly said yes to the offered booze, and were now trying to build a very crude statue of Flamengrad the fungus troll, laughing madly at each other.

Maren was just a few steps away, close to the docks, and fed the fishes over and over again, probably getting rid of all the giant cookies in Norway form and candy cones or know the spirits what she had been force-fed while Elsa had not been there to stop her well-meaning former subjects,  
To top it all of the whole scene was accompanied by the choir of mad Mrs.Tennford, all singing like their freaking life's deadpanned on it, an almost mad joy in their eyes.

Never in her life had Elsa been almost glad that spend almost all of her past Christmases alone in her room!! What had gotten into her people?? Where there always like this? Had she just not seen it?

Even thinking about it made Elsa turn so red it would have put any tomato to shame. She took her pillow, pressed it onto her face, and groaned loudly into it!  
What had she done to deserve this?  
All she had wanted to do was -

_Bump bump creak!_

A sound from above her interrupted her thoughts. Someone was up in the in the attic, roaming around.  
Elsa did not hesitated long, got up from her bed, got the nearest lantern she could find, and headed for the stairs.  
But in the large, slightly creepy space was no one. No Anna looking for old proofs of traditions, disusing herself as a very weird hybrid between a Viking and a scourer with dragon feet. Only dusty darkness, barely illuminated by Elsa's lantern, its light suddenly flickering in a gust of wind?  
She looked up to the very small and only window and wondered how anybody could have reached it from here.  
A flick of her hand and ladder of ice appeared, making her ascend easy.  
And there, in a height that would make almost everyone Elsa knew, die of fear, sat Maren on the quite narrow ledge of a tower, looking up the moon, admiring the stars with such a wonder in her eyes.  
She looked beautiful, Elsa thought, with her dark skin and her soulful brown eyes, a true sight to behold!  
But she still looked so worried, almost angry?  
Elsa needed to talk to her, make her see that the people of Arendelle had only meant well, and not meant to insult her in any way.  
She tried to get out o the roof, her shuffling about made Maren look though, and suddenly the young woman looked guilty.

“Elsa! Oh....ahm....sorry, Have I woke you up?” she asked, coming over with quick and sure strides, almost like she walked on even ground, the snow crunching under her feet. She offered Elsa a hand, pulling her up easily.

“No, but what are you doing out here?” Elsa asked carefully, trying to meet Maren's gaze but had no such luck. The smaller woman looked anywhere but her, rubbing her neck like she always did when she was embarrassed.  
Elsa felt the heavy lump set in her chest again, her plan to show Maren the beauty of Arendelle during the holidays totally ruined she quickly wanted to apologize for what had happened.

“I am sorry for today.”

Elsa blinked, it was not her who had spoken.

“Wait? You are sorry?”

“Yes, I mean I totally ruined it, well, my stomach did not help either. Your people just wanted to show me how they liked to celebrate and I was so on edge because....I.....”

It was a rare thing to see Maren struggle this way with her words. Normally she stayed calm, even in the face of trouble or hardship, and Elsa had quickly understood why the Northuldra wanted her to follow in Yelena's footsteps when the time had come.

 _'And now she behaves more like....me?!'_ Elsa thought as she looked at Maren's hands, clutched tightly together, her shoulders slumped slightly forward, and her face full of worry.  
Suddenly it was like their roles were switched, leaving Elsa only one option – accepting her new role.

Straightening her shoulders she tried to give her voice the same soothing tone Maren always seemed to have for her whenever she had felt overwhelmed by the many new things she had learned as she joined the tribe or had missed Anna very badly!

“It's going to be fine.”

Maren looked at her, probably understanding what Elsa tried to achieve, and a real smile appeared on the brunette's face.

“I know, its just,” Maren stopped again, rubbing her neck, and Elsa gently encouraged her by laying a hand on her shoulder:”- winter was the hardest time in the mist. Resources were always scares because so little could come and go as it pleased. We had to be more mindful of what we hunted or gathered for if we overdid it, there was no way new game would make it through the mist, So we had to....relay on our reindeer a lot more.” here Maren swallowed thickly, and Elsa thought of how close the Northuldra and their reindeer were, and even though butchering a few of the heard each year was necessary to gain resources that secured the survival of the tribe as a whole, it was done with solemn faces and as quick and painless as possible.  
“And the spirits around this time of year would be restless, even more dangerous.”

Elsa suddenly felt guilty, the suspicion that the spirits had acted that way because her birthday was close around this time of year almost a certainty.

“And now it's the first time without the mist and I know my people are safe, that Yelena and the others have it under control but ...I...”

She could not say more, but Elsa understood and without waiting further, she grabbed Maren's hand and lead her of the roof, using her ice ladder back into the attic, not stopping as they rushed through the dark and silent castle and as they reached the courtyard Maren asked:” Elsa, where are we going?”

“Home.” Elsa answered simply, as they passed through the open gates.

Maren did not like this. As she stood at the harbor of Arendelle, watching how Elsa's easily mounted the Nokk, the freaking spirit of water herself. The foreboding gleaming eyes of the water horse seemed to look right into her soul and it the young warrior felt small, and just as out of place as the rest of the day.

Elsa's mile was so encouraging as she offered Maren a hand, she really did no wanted to say what she felt she had to.

“I don't know if this is a good idea.”

Elsa tilted her head, raising an eyebrow at her.

“We just take the Nokk, ride to the forest, check if all is well and then come right back here, before anyone even notice we are gone. Easy.”

“Oh, I did not mean your plan in general. I am just not sure if it's within my rights to ride the Nokk. It feels wrong to just hop onto her back like she is an ordinary horse.” Maren said, trying to keep her voice low somehow hoping the intimidating spirit would not hear her, but no such luck.

The watery head, with its pricing eyes that were impossible to read, came closet to her face, judging Maren and then, after what felt like and eternity, spoke her judgment.

The little splash of ice-cold water hit Maren right in the face, making her step back a few paces, before she caught herself, wiping her face and seeing how the two spirits laughed at her.  
Well, Elsa giggled lightly, her mouth hidden behind her hand, Nokk made shameless neighing noises that sounded like laughter.

“See,” Elsa hurried to say:” She likes you!”

And before Maren could to much more, ice and water worked together, lifting her in the air and onto Nokks back, and of their went, out one the ocean and into the night.

The ride to over the water was one of the most wondrous things Maren ever did. With the pitch-black water under Nokks hooves and the dark sky above them, it felt like, Elsa and she were the only humans roaming, caught in a dark velvet, only light very feebly by the stars and the moon,  
It was like a dream, only better because it was no dream, the woman she held onto a very real Elsa.  
Maren only hoped her heart was not beating so strong that Elsa could feel it.

Shortly before they arrived on the shore, Elsa simply froze Nokk with a simple touch, the water spirit switching from water to land without getting slower. Soon the coast was behind them and like ghost, they rushed under the trees, the forest grew thicker around them with each stride Nokk took.  
A few moments later they stood, still well-hidden, beneath the trees, a good view on the camp.

All looked well, the tribe was huddled close to big fire, the children close to Yelena, listening to tales Maren had been told when she was a child, and after she would take over from Yelena, it would be her turn to share these stories with the youngest of her people.  
It was reassuring that quite a few of her fellow warrior's stood guard.  
Maren let out a breath sh did not know she was holding.  
She turned to Elsa, smiling at her.

”Thank you.” Maren said, hoping that it came across how much she meant it.

“No problem at all. Want to say hello before we go?”

Maren thought only for a moment, before shaking her head:” No, let's go back.”  
If Elsa found her decision strange she did not show it, mounting Nokk and Maren took the offered hand this time, holding on tightly as Nokk proved that no mount, be it horse or reindeer could ever match the water spirits speed.

Elsa found the ride back over the ocean was way less awe educing and more playful, with Maren in a considerably better mood now that she had seen that the tribe was in no danger.  
She gave Elsa almost a heart attack as she let herself fall to side the side holding on to Nokks body only with her legs, touching the almost still surface of the ocean with her hand, leaving a trail of water and foam that flew high into the air.  
Playing along Nokk ran in wild circles curves, drawing with Maren's help shapes on the surface of the water and Elsa wished she could see from above how it looked like.  
Joining the fun Elsa castes ramps out of ice so Nokk could make mighty leaps, stealing the air out of the woman's lungs, only to be drawn back in when they landed, fits of laughter echoing over the black water.

The way back to Arendelle may had turned into a quite wet affair and had taken way longer but it had also been way more fun, Elsa decided, as she wrong out her hair, smiling how Nokk allowed Maren to pat her, fondly while very carefully nibbling at her messy braid, only to splash water in her face again.  
With another neighing laugh, she turned around, sunk into the ocean, gone from sight in a flash.  
Only then she realized how Maren shivered, and almost hit herself over the head, for being so thoughtless.  
As quickly and silently she could muster, Elsa maneuvered Maren into the guest Anna had given the warrior for the time of her stay, quickly lightening a fire before she helped Maren, who struggled to peel the wet clothes off her body with her numb hands.  
The fire must already be going strong, heat rushing to her cheeks already as Maren's strong back was covered with a warm and dry sleeping tunic of the warrior.  
Covered in all the blankets her room had to over, sitting close to the warm fire, Maren looked ready to fall asleep right there on the ground.

“Are you feeling better?” Elsa asked, suddenly feeling strangely shy, straightening out a pillow absentmindedly.

“Much better.”

Maren's answer was sounded very drowsily already, her eyes dropping as she spoke.

“Maybe you should go to bed?”

“It's fine. I sleep better on the ground anyway.”

There was a short pause and even though Elsa had already opened her mouth she was not sure what she had wanted to say, something fireing up her cheeks that had nothing to do with the fire.

“Alright. Goodnight Maren.”

“Goodnight, let's do this again next year,” Maren mumbled and fell asleep.

As Elsa went back to her room she tried to find an explanation for the strange turmoil in her chest. Sure she was happy that Maren would not run for the hills after the messy first day and even considered to come back next year, but no matter how good it sounded to Elsa to start a somewhat unconventional tradition with Maren, but the string reaction of her body was strange, to say the least.  
With scientific interest she went through each one of them, trying to put them in the right order as she dried her hair, re-braided it, and put on of her favorite nightgowns.  
For one why was her face still hot even though she had not to light a fire in her room?  
And why was her heart beating quite strongly still?  
It made no sense!  
She pulled the blanket back, moved under them, and just as her head hit the pillow, she bolted right back up, sitting stiff as a board in her bed!

It had finally gone click.  
The penny had **finally** dropped.  
The lost reindeer had **FINALLY** found the heard.

Like a flash she was out of bed and at Anna's door, knocking like a whirlwind, needing the advice of her sister more than ever.

Needless to say that the queen of Arnedelle did not sleep much this night.


End file.
